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On its own terms, a fine enough, creative but dated d&b disc introducing everyone to Tobin's particular jazzy fusions, but for almost all who have heard his sequential work, a shallow appetizer.
Wow, where to start. Dream Sequence is very abstract goodness, and One Small Step is the best drum and bass song ever. I found his debut, Bricolage, fantastic. He does go to other beats as well to, but a lot of chaotic drums are intact that go like ________ peanut butter and jelly over everything else. Listen to those tracks and their drums. I would say this album is a drum and bass tour de force. On top of that, when you add Tobin's still great use of, uh, everything else he sticks on top of the rhythms, this is why Bricolage is so great when I give it a whirl. Chomp Samba is a drum and bass tour de force.
I won't get started on why Defocus is bad@$$, but take the title of the song into context. I love this guy, but I find his later work kind of fatiguing. Stoney Street features jazzy rhythms and samples, and you can just visualize a dark city, or maybe a light city, or maybe a city through the eyes of a drunk. There's a groove of jungle dense drums right after thumps of percussion, and it fills with dark, dark, dark ambiance. It doesn't have the mindless repitition of it, but still has those rhythms that I love about D and B. A great ode to the creatures of the night. Easy Muffin has brilliantly soothing electronic warmth that reminds me of Autechre (like Amber), and of course, the drums. His music is so brilliant and amazing that sometimes I have a bit of trouble taking it all the way through (laughs).
One Day In My Garden, with it's light brazillian rhythm, evolves into more of the drum and bass mayhem, and once again brings you out on a breezy note. Reccomended. Bitter and Twisted. The New York Editor impresses with a unexplainable pulse of a beat, a jazzy shuffle. Drum and Bass.
Like, now. So even with Permutation and Supermodified, this album stands out on it's own. That alone is enough.10/10 Finally, we get Mission, that takes the whole thing down (and I swear that I hear the flute from Sequent C from Phaedra). While it may not be as brilliant in other senses, this is the best form of the drum and bass sound.
Wires and Snakes. Creatures is another delicious drum groove with ether sounds and creepy noises. Song wise. Yasawas starts with single chimes, and builds with a throbbing bassline, cool textures, and looping breakbeats vs.
Me. Both this, and the later disc, "Permutation". I first discovered Tobin while listening to a co-volunteer's radio program at KSVR-FM in Mount Vernon, WA.Tobin is decidedly different in his down-tempo, semi-lounge, avant-garde Jazz style, blending electronic production and sampling with a layering of drum'n'bass raunchiness that is very eye-opening if you've come expecting traditional or soft Jazz.Not a "happy" album, not a "relaxing" album, this work definitely has niche appeal for those of us who consider ourselves electronic music fans, with occasional Jazz crossover. I love it. I've featured Tobin on my radio programs at both KSVR-FM and KSER-FM, and will always recommend Tobin to anyone bored with the usual pop Jazz or traditional Jazz offerings. I've yet to throw this disc in the CD carousel at a social gathering and not have the whole room stop dead and say, as a whole, "Who is this."Some love it. Some do not love it.
This creation in particular has a lot of creepy, desolate, isolated sounds pouring through your speakers while at the same time exploding with some form of insane serenity. Its a display of what you can do musically if you really sit down and THINK about it. You can't classify this guy, he is all over the place. It's truly a vacation in musical format, and I highly reccomend it. There are so many sounds and emotions going on that you can picture a scene for every song. Some people may brand him as electronic, but I have to thoroughly disagree. Have you ever wondered what it was like to watch a movie completely visualized in your head by means of musical influence. The intensity levels can peak to a point you wouldn't think could be reached by music.
This does the trick. Listening to it leaves me speechless. BUT, if you are into instrumentals, much like I am, and ORIGINAL sounding instrumentals, this is perfect. If you don't at least ive it a shot, I think you are missing out on a potentially epic piece of art. It's not just music, its art. The way he explodes the combinations into a structurally accurate form amazes me. The spectrum of music is displayed within this work of art. This, and most other works by him will do the trick.
If you are for anything vocal, he is not for you. Being a musician, I have a deep respect for music that takes you somewhere just through your ear drums. It's not just a composition, its a visualization. He fuses Jazz with Drum and Bass with Ambience with Jungle with just plain creepy noises, and it feels as though you are somewhere.
It seems a little rushed to production. Still enjoyable to listen to, but only randomly in a large playlist. This CD starts with a track (Stoney Street)that is completely off track from the rest. Overall, the best track is the second (Easy Muffin) and afterwards it somewhat flows, but never really finds on overall style between jazz overtones and dark dub-step.
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